“But you lied to me—both of you.” Matthew leaned against the wall, between the TV and overflowing bookcase. “How am I to trust you now?”
Out of the corners of my eyes, I saw Kat lift two fingers to her temple.
“Look, I understand the risk. More than any of you in the room.” I rubbed the heel of my palm where my chest still ached from where the Arum had gotten me. “But what is done is done. We need to move forward.”
“As in contacting the DOD?” Andrew asked. “I’m sure they’d know what to do with her.”
My voice was low and calm, but that was not how I felt. “I’d like to see you try that, Andrew. Really I would, because even after last night, and I’m not yet fully charged, I could still kick your ass.”
Matthew cleared his throat. “Daemon, threats aren’t necessary.”
“Aren’t they?” I challenged.
A heavy silence fell in the room, broken only when Matthew spoke again. “I don’t think this is wise. Not with what…with what happened before, but I’m not going to turn you over.” He looked at Kat, sighing heavily. “Not unless you give me reason to. And maybe you won’t. I don’t know. Humans are such…fickle creatures. What we are, what we can do, has to be protected at all costs. I think you understand that. You’re safe, but we aren’t.”
Andrew cursed under his breath and Ash looked ready to throw something, but it was Matthew’s call. He was like our very own Elder. All of us knew that. A bit of relief eased the tension in my muscles. At least I wasn’t going to have to fight those I’d grown up with and considered family.
“You said there was one Arum left?” Adam asked, shifting the conversation. “What’s the plan? He knows there are Luxen here obviously. He’s going to come back.”
“He won’t wait. They’re not known for being patient.” Matthew moved over to the couch and sat down next to Dee. “I could contact the other Luxen, but I’m not sure if that would be smart. Where we may be more confident in her, they won’t be.”
“And there’s the problem that she’s a megawatt lightbulb right now,” Ash added, her upper lip curling. “It doesn’t even matter if we don’t say anything. The moment she goes anywhere in town, they are going to know that something big happened again.”
“Well, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about that,” Kat replied.
“Any suggestions?” I asked. “Because the sooner she’s not carrying a trace, the better all of this is going to be.”
“Who cares?” Andrew rolled his eyes. “We have the Arum issue to worry about. He’s gonna see her no matter where we put her. All of us, right now, are in danger. Any of us near her are in danger. We can’t wait around. We have to find the last Arum.”
Dee shook her head. “If we can get the trace off her, then that will buy us time to find him. Getting rid of the trace should be the first priority.”
“I say we drive her out to the middle of nowhere and leave her ass there,” Andrew muttered.
“Thanks.” Kat rubbed at her temples with her fingers. “You’re so very helpful with all of this.”
He smiled back at her. “Hey, just offering my suggestions.”
“Shut up, Andrew,” I said.
Andrew’s eyes rolled once more.
“Once we get the trace off her, she’d be safe,” Dee insisted as she tucked her hair back, face pinched. “The Arum don’t mess with humans, really.”
“I have an idea,” Adam said. Everyone looked at him. “The light around her is a by-product of us using our power, right? And our power is concentrated energy. And we get weaker when we use our powers and use more energy.”
Matthew’s gaze sparked with interest. “I think I’m following you.”
“I’m not,” Kat muttered, and my lips twitched.
“Our powers fade the more we use them, the more energy we exert.” Adam turned to me. “It should work the same with our traces, because the trace is just residual energy we are leaving on someone. We get her to exert her own energy; it should fade what’s around her. Maybe not completely, but get it down to levels that aren’t going to draw every Arum on Earth to us.”
Matthew nodded. “It should work.”
I rubbed at my chest. “And how are we going to get her to exert energy?”
Andrew grinned from across the room. “We could take her out to a field and chase her around in our cars. That sounds fun.”
Kat dropped her feet onto the floor. “Oh, fuc—”
My laugh cut her off, earning me a dark look from one very pissed-off little kitten. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Funny, but not a good idea. Humans are fragile.”
“How about I shove my fragile foot up your ass,” she retorted, and that made me grin…up until when she pushed me clear off the arm of the chair. “I’m getting a drink. Let me know when you guys come up with anything that won’t potentially kill me in the process.”
I watched her hurry out of the room, smiling faintly. Man, she was not a happy camper right now. Couldn’t blame her. Refocusing on the room, my gaze collided with Ash’s. Aaand there was another person who did not appear to be feeling warm and fuzzy.
“This could work,” Dee said, smoothing her hands over her legs. “We just get her to exert energy, and that’s not that hard. Running will do it. Jumping jacks. Jogging in place. Sit-ups—”